Quid Pro Quo: So Little Time, So Much to Know

guess which one is me?  (from the yellow submarine: sea of holes)

I just spent a fun weekend with my fab-four, though we were not "all together now," since we're now grown-ups and can't all make it where and when we said we would or wish we could.  this time, for the first time, our casual group portrait required "photoshopping in" to get the four of us into it.  there are even "significant others."  like i said, we're now grown-ups.  so we look at the good, mostly.  we also forgot to take photos of all of us, in general -- maybe we are entering dementia?

We ate a lot, too.  We even managed to cook one of the meals.  A partial log of 4 days:

Scant Old Evidence

I think most people love birthdays -- it's an acknowledged and valid way to get attention and presents.  And others are nominally nice to you for the day, at least.  But perhaps most people don't want to acknowledge how many birthdays they've already had, if you know what I mean?  And some of us simply don't want to deal, because it means some effort needs to be made.  And yet others are celebrating but also hiding.

In my case, the photos we salvaged from my birthday brunch are sparse; result: I don't quite recall what we ate, nor who was actually there.  I know someone called in sick; others had to leave early.  And yet others showed up as a surprise.  I'm just old, maybe.

The photos we did manage to take consist of hunks of uncooked meat, and the remainders of what were once full bowls of things.  And one of Eric making as many buckwheat blini as he could, which was just as well -- none were left over!

All in all, a successful birthday brunch.  :)  Thank you, all!

they look less than toothsome at this point, but these are the briskets
straight out of the pickling solution,
sitting atop carrots, celery, cabbage, onions, and spices and herbs.
brian did the cutting and assembly while i hollered answers to
his questions.  i washed the big nesco, too.

eric was visiting, and you know what that means --
you get put to work! he's festively dressed, though
perhaps not necessarily for blini-making.  he made dozens upon
 dozens till the batter was finally depleted. when making
tiny pancakelets, the number of blini rises proportionally.

the last four vadai -- at one point, there were nearly 100
of them struggling to balance upon this platter.   then a late-leaving
guest dumped them all in their to-go baggie.  they were wanted and loved!

not sure if these last fried oysters are lonely or not.  you can see the
debris field left after the 60+ fried things were consumed
with alacrity.  i don't know where these final four went!

leftover broth from the cooking of the corned beef.  the meat disappeared
quickly, even by those who purport to "not care" for the viand.  we added
hotdogs for a day-after meal; it counts, right?

i don't eat cake.  i do eat lemon tart.  the crust is oil-based (rather than requiring butter)
and was remarkably crisp and tender.  the innards are a lemon custard,
made with the whole fruit.  i "managed" eric and he made it.  yeah, all gone now.